Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...
A handful of championships were handed out this weekend. Some were decided simply with a start of an engine. Some had two of three championship challengers fall out almost immediately in a ten-hour race. Others were a little more fierce. The World Rally Championship had an astonishing conclusion. The Asia-Pacific region starts a busy period for it in the motorsports world, and one stop was unexpected at the start of the year. Formula One returned to Malaysia as Sepang hosted the Bahrain Grand Prix, and nine years after it last hosted a race, Max Verstappen won again. Sepang was a popular inclusion to this year's calendar though it was not originally planned.
Growing Fonder
Sometimes, things just work out.
Watching the Formula One live from Malaysia was not going to work out based on time schedules. When the last race held in Sepang was held, it would be without question I would watch it live and not think twice about what Sunday would be like despite the early wake-up. Things change in nine years.
Nine years ago, it was cable television, it was wonky commercials you would not see at any other hour but 4:00 a.m. In 2026, the body was shaken awake at 4:40 a.m. It was a little earlier than planned, but I was up and the plan was always to start the race once the debris was cleared from the corners of my eyes. Popping open AppleTV and starting the stream from the start, I found a startlingly note. The race had been delayed.
Sliding along the timeline and watching the hours grew closer to the present, an excitement grew that I had not missed much of the race at all. The race began about five minutes before waking up. I was caught up and watching live with the world after the opening pit stops for the Valtteri Bottas safety car.
Sometimes, things just work out.
Even while watching delayed, a warmth settled inside of me as the damp conditions threw the race into a tizzy. The Mercedes jumped out to first and second. Max Verstappen was third after holding off Liam Lawson. Ferrari botched the strategy with both cars remaining on the slick tires. McLaren at least split their cars. The order was flipped with a few teams gaining a half-dozen spots or more based on tire choice. The track surface didn't dry as fast as some expected, but it was getting there. The first wet race of the 2026 Formula One season washed away any dull moments. I loved every second of it.
The love might have been in a slumber. Ever since this race was announced, a chunk of Formula One fans were ecstatic for Sepang's return, a track that had not featured on a Formula One calendar since 2017. When Malaysia fell off the schedule, Formula One was looking for something else. The French Grand Prix was returning. It did not feel like much were lost. Netflix cameras were about to start following in the paddock. There was some plan for a docuseries.
I enjoyed Sepang. I never felt it was a staple on the Formula One calendar. It had always been there. I didn't know a Formula One without Malaysia, growing up during the global expansion of the world championship that seemingly has never ended during the 21st century. I didn't feel like Sepang was Spa-Francorchamps or Silverstone or Monaco or Monza. It didn't feel like Formula One had to be there. It was a fine circuit, but it wasn't a case that every race was a banger and we could not imagine Formula One without it. There were plenty of circuits like it. Plus, there was still MotoGP and I could see it every year.
Separation makes the heart grow fonder.
For the modernity of the Sepang International Circuit, it has a flowing characteristic many modern circuits miss. In my youth, I remember a broadcast where Steve Matchett, or it could have been David Hobbs, once said the best tracks were the ones where drivers felt like they were going somewhere. Sepang has that quality. Even though it isn't the longest circuit and it wasn't based on roads from over 60 years ago, Sepang's dips and rises make it feel like proper roads. The sweeping bends make each lap feel like a journey through the South Pacific archipelago.
Millennials are going to be obnoxious with nostalgia. The things from their youths will be held too high as flawless. Don't we all do the same when remembering the past? It was always better, greater than the world has ever been.
An exhausting number held Sepang's absence from the Formula One calendar as some travesty and this was a long-awaited return. No one was that broken when it fell off after 2017. Nostalgia was kicking in. For a generation, Sepang was familiar. I feel its place in the calendar helped. Long being one of the first rounds of the season, it was associated with a return of Formula One, taking place during cool mornings at the end of winter or start of spring, a time when it was best to remain in. Tropical conditions provided warmth through the television screen. Being early in the season, it could also provide a mix in results. Everyone was still getting a handle on their new cars.
Even if some need to readjust or at least have a more realistic grip on the past, this race was wonderful to see, but it speaks to the power of Formula One in 2026.
I am not sure more people have shown up to see a Sepang race. That was a far different visual than the last time Formula One held a race there. Formula One has never been bigger. Malaysia knows it. With the lack of a race over the past nine years, this was their moment to see a grand prix. They don't know if there will ever be another one. This isn't the only part of the world that would have the same thing. There are probably a dozen or two-dozen places where if a Formula One race popped up tomorrow, over 100,000 locals would show up because when is this circus going to be around again?
There aren't many circuits in the world that can host Formula One. Not many circuits have hosted Formula One, period. Only 77 circuits have held a grand prix. A given Formula One calendar nearly has a third of the circuits to ever host a grand prix. That puts into perspective how scarce Formula One is in this world. Many places do not hold a grand prix in a given year. Most places never have a grand prix come to town. Formula One has grown to a level that in almost any corner of a globe, it would pack any racetrack it set up camp. Seeing Sepang's success, I wish there was a way Formula One could be more available.
The strange thing about motorsports, compared to other individual sports, it doesn't bounce around as much as others. For golf, tournaments rotate, especially the biggest events. Three of the four major events are at a different golf course every year. The Ryder Cup and President's Cup are always at a different venue. Some tournaments are always at the same place, but even some smaller tournaments rotate. Different communities get to host and attract the atmosphere of the competition. Motorsports doesn't do that.
In motorsports, a calendar is set, and if they ran at the same two-dozen tracks every year for the rest of eternity, no one would bat an eye. Look at how much the NASCAR calendar hasn't changed, and it has changed significantly since the 2020s began.
There is no drive from motorsports to constantly be searching for somewhere new or spreading itself further. It is not a yearly effort. Series are not looking to see new places. The calendar is not changing with 20% of the round being held at different circuits than the year before with some returning and others being entirely new. Most of that is down to money. Some places pay to have a race every year. Other places cannot afford to hold a race. Saving all the pennies to pay for one race is not worth to track and series. We are left going to the same places over and over again.
Formula One is positioned to be different. With the expansion of its calendar and 25 races being the goal, it should make an effort to have a few rotating events to see all corners of the globe. There are plenty of locations that should be locks on the calendar, and in a way Formula One is starting to rotate. We are going to see Spa-Francorchamps and Barcelona alternate starting in 2027, though I am not sure Spa-Francorchamps should not be one of those rotating places. Perhaps that will cause me to love it even more.
Maybe this should be a norm, or at least something we become more comfortable with. Maybe there are 18 or 20 races that are locks, and the final four to seven races are a rotation. I have already expressed my interest of the European Grand Prix returning as a way to visit some circuits that cannot fit on the schedule every year. Maybe the South Pacific could have another race, allowing for Malaysia to be a semi-frequent stop while also bringing Formula One to Thailand and we could finally see Vietnam host after it was supposed to six years ago, and maybe Formula One could go to Indonesia as well.
It could be the way South Africa and Kyalami returns to the schedule. A southern hemisphere round could flip across the Atlantic between there and Argentina. Throw in New Zealand and three-quarters of the Rugby Championship sides could share a grand prix.
I am not sure the Persian Gulf requires having four rounds in one season, but maybe those nations can get three races and that extra spot can go somewhere else and a grand prix can be held in a place that has long been absent of Formula One.
When it comes to money, Formula One is fine. It can race anywhere in the world and it is going to rake in the dough. I hate that current sanctioning bodies in all sports are strictly driven on business. I wish there was more love in decisions. Formula One is so comfortable, it should decide it is going to race in South Africa or New Zealand or Finland or Colombia or Ireland because it can and it wants to be everywhere in the world and bring Formula One to people who do not have a grand prix, even if the race is only once every three or five or ten years.
It is a dream that may never become reality, but it makes sense especially after seeing Sepang host this past weekend. The people are there who will support the race, and maybe they shouldn't have to wait nine years and for global conflict to see Formula One return. There should be more regular stops on the Formula One calendar even if they are not annual stops. Sepang showed the world is hungry for a grand prix, and the world is hungry for variety in grand prix.
It may not be a classic track where the likes of Fangio, Clark and Brabham competed, but Sepang has a place in the Formula One world, and it should not be shut out indefinitely. That is probably true for a number of other venues and locations. If we learned anything from this weekend, the world championship has more of the world to include.
Champions From the Weekend
Jack Aitken clinched the IMSA GTP championship once he started Petit Le Mans from Road Atlanta.
The #7 Penske Porsche Motorsport Porsche of Laurin Heinrich, Julien Andlauer and Felipe Nasr clinched the GTP Endurance Cup championship with an eight-place finish at Petit Le Mans.
The #04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR Oreca-Gibson of George Kurtz and Alex Quinn clinched the IMSA LMP2 championship with a class victory at Petit Le Mans with third driver Toby Sowery, as all three drivers won the LMP2 Endurance Cup championship as well.
The #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW of Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen clinched the IMSA GTD Pro championship with a third-place finish at Petit Le Mans, which also clinched the GTD Pro Endurance Cup championship.
The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG of Philip Ellis and Russell Ward clinched the IMSA GTD championship with a class victory at Petit Le Mans with third driver Indy Dontje, as all three drivers won the GTD Endurance Cup championship as well..
Elfyn Evans clinched the World Rally Championship with a fifth place finish in Rally Italia Sardegna and a third on the power stage after Oliver Solberg crashed coming to the finish.
The #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche of Bastian Buus and Ricardo Feller clinched the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup with a second-place finish in the first race of the weekend from Barcelona.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Max Verstappen and some of the Petit Le Mans winners, but did you know...
The 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche of Matt Campbell, Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor won Petit Le Mans. The #68 Car Blanche Aston Martin of Mattia Drudi, Valentin Hasse-Clot and Marco Sørensen won in GTD Pro.
Marc Márquez won MotoGP's Japanese Grand Prix, his sixth victory of the season, and Márquez also won the sprint race. Izan Guevara won in Moto2, his second consecutive victory and third of the season. David Almansa won in Moto3, his third victory of the season.
Chase Briscoe won the NASCAR Cup race from Las Vegas, his second victory of the season. Corey Day won the Grand National Series race, his third victory of the season.
Oliver Solberg won Rally Italia Sardegna, his third victory of the season.
The #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi of Dylan Pereira and Alex Aka and the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari of Ben Green and Thierry Vermeulen split the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup races from Barcelona.
Coming Up This Weekend
The 69th Bathurst 1000.
Formula One has a short jaunt to Singapore.
MotoGP has a bit of a longer leap to Indonesia.
Charlotte hosts an autumnal oval weekend for NASCAR.
The Indianapolis 8 Hour caps off the Intercontinental GT Challenge season while GT World Challenge America puts a bow on its 2026 season at Indianapolis.
One of six drivers could leave Hockenheim as the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters championship.
For the first time in two months, Super Formula competes with a doubleheader at Fuji.
World Superbike has its penultimate round in Portugal, Estoril to be specific.
